COLUMN: Panthers ability to handle success makes next week's game team's biggest in 5 years

Sunday

Dec 1, 2013 at 12:01 AMDec 1, 2013 at 4:35 PM

Richard Walker

CHARLOTTE – A frequent criticism leveled at Carolina Panthers over the years is that they struggle at handling success.

After all, the franchise has only four winning streaks of six games or longer.

But one of them is ongoing – as Sunday’s workmanlike 27-6 victory over Tampa Bay tied a team record for consecutive victories at eight.

Given the early-season criticism the Panthers and coach Ron Rivera and some of his players received when they started 0-2 and 1-3, any success has been gratefully accepted as well as graciously dealt with – at least so far.

Perhaps the team is taking cues from its quarterback Cam Newton.

When asked earlier this week if he thought facing 3-8 Tampa Bay at home five weeks after whipping them 31-13 on the road was a “trap” game, Newton was emphatic.

“There’s no trap games in the NFL,” Newton said. “In this league, you have to be ready for every game and every challenge.”

And since the Panthers have been able to build upon their successes seemingly every week, the team and its fans find themselves in a December game next week with huge significance – and on the national stage.

Next Sunday night, the Panthers visit New Orleans in a game NBC chose to move from 1 p.m. to the prime time 8:20 p.m. time slot a couple of weeks ago.

How big is the game?

It’s Carolina’s biggest since it lost 34-28 in overtime at the New York Giants in the next-to-last game of the 2008 regular season when the top record in the NFC was on the line.

That year was the last time the Panthers won the NFC South or even made the playoffs.

And, this year, Carolina could very well duplicate both feats.

With New Orleans visiting Seattle on Monday night, next week’s Panthers-Saints game could be for first place in the NFC South.

With a win tonight, the Saints would be 10-2 and be a full game ahead of the Panthers. A loss by the Saints would mean the teams would enter next week’s contest playing for first place in the division – with their second meeting in Charlotte two weeks later.